Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Mosque

The Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Mosque is a list of rights for Islamic women in the mosque written by Muslim author and feminist Asra Nomani.The bill of Rights were vanguarded in the United States in 2004 by the [http://www.asranomani.com/freedom/archives/2005/02/about_the_daugh.php Daughters of Hajar] , a group of 7 prominent progressive Muslim feminists.

History

The Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Mosque along with the Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Bedroom, and the 99 Precepts for Opening Hearts, Minds and Doors in the Muslim World was written with the end of making Islam more progressive.

Nomani wrote it in honor of the ancestral matriarch of the Arabs Hajar who stood alone with her son Ismael in the Arabian desert and through which her courage permitted the lineage which became the Arabs to survive. [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0503/03/lol.01.html]

The Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Mosque was written upon her return from Mecca where Asra noted the egalitarian treatment of all individuals which she found to be lacking upon her return to her local mosque in Morgantown.

The Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Mosque

The Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Mosque lists 10 rights that women should be granted in regard to their participation at the Mosque, such as entering the Mosque through the main entry door, and not be required to only enter through the back and to have full access to the Mosque without separation by artificial barriers designed to segregate women from the men. The list goes on to grant women the right to freely address the members of the congregation whether they be men or women and to hold leadership positions as well as to receive equal treatment as the men.

# Women have an Islamic right to enter a mosque.
# Women have an Islamic right to enter through the main door.
# Women have an Islamic right to visual and auditory access to the musalla (main sanctuary).
# Women have an Islamic right to pray in the musalla without being separated by a barrier, including in the front and in mixed-gender congregational lines.
# Women have an Islamic right to address any and all members of the congregation.
# Women have an Islamic right to hold leadership positions, including positions as prayer leaders, or imams, and as members of the board of directors and management committees.
# Women have an Islamic right to be full participants in all congregational activities.
# Women have an Islamic right to lead and participate in meetings, study sessions, and other community activities without being separated by a barrier.
# Women have an Islamic right to be greeted and addressed cordially.
# Women have an Islamic right to respectful treatment and exemption from gossip and slander.

External links

* [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/168/story_16846_1.html The Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in Mosques]
* [http://www.asranomani.com/ Asra Nomani's Website]
* [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0503/03/lol.01.html CNN interview discussing Asra Nomani's 3 Islamic Bills of Rights]
* [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/168/story_16810_1.html Coverage] at BeliefNet
* [http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2005/03/15 Audio coverage] by WNYC
* [http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=9206 Coverage] by The American Prospect
* [http://aaupnet.org/librarybooks/200-299Religion.html Living Islam Out Loud: American Muslim Women Speak] , a book discussing this Bill of Rights is reviewed by Eve Ensler and selected by the AAUP for public and secondary school libraries
* [http://english.aljazeera.net/news/archive/archive?ArchiveId=10514 Coverage] by Al Jazeera
* [http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsApr2005/bookapr.htm Coverage] by Newsline Pakistan
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/04/AR2005060401646_pf.html Coverage] by The Washington Post
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4010/is_200506/ai_n13641393 Coverage] by Sojourners Magazine
* [http://www.abc.se/~m9783/k/awpm_e.html Coverage] at Living Islam
* [http://www.campusprogress.org/soundvision/310/standing-alone-in-mecca Coverage] by the Center for American Progress
* [http://www.brandeis.edu/investigate/events/AsraNomanifullpage.html Coverage] at Brandeis University